Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck: How Wedding Differs From Planned First Nuptials

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have finally tied the knot, 20 years after meeting on the set of the film Gigli. Sparks flew, and they were joined at the hip, becoming engaged within a year and planning a star-studded wedding. But the wedding would be postponed due to what the couple say was an overwhelming amount of media attention. “Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” Lopez and Affleck said in a joint statement in 2003, ABC News reported. This time around, the couple did away with the bells and whistles and got their marriage certificate in Vegas with their children as witnesses. They held a smaller ceremony the following day, with Lopez detailing the nuptials in a newsletter to fans. It’s a lot simpler than their original wedding plans two decades back.

The first was to be held at a large estate in LA, with the rehearsal dinner at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbra the night before. 400 guests received invitations by phone as opposed to mailers for the couple to preserve security. They also received instructions about final details that would be hand-delivered four days before the ceremony. The media attention was massive and the couple reportedly called off the wedding and changed locations several times before finally canceling.

This time around, they wanted to keep it lowkey. “Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” her newsletter reads in part. “Exactly what we wanted. Last night we flew to Vegas, stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world…We barely made it to the little white wedding chapel by midnight.”

Lopez said she wore an old dress from a film. She shared a series of photos and videos in the newsletter, which has since made its way to social media pages. Lopez explained in the newsletter that a big wedding wasn’t necessary because it’s the marriage that counts. This marks her fourth marriage. It’s the second for Affleck.